Matteney - The Perfect Combination
by erinfriendsga
Summary: Basically another Matteney Fanfiction based on the set of Cougar Town
1. Chapter 1

_A/N this is my first Matteney fanfic so please be kind. this is set in Cougar Town just before Matteney started shooting their scenes. this idea for this episode came about on a not so recent twitter chat I had with a lovely friends of mine about how we imagined if Matteney ever had a snowball fight. so I had to make a fanfic about it and here it is. enjoy and feedback much appreciated._

**Chapter 1**

Courteney pushed a strand of her jet black hair behind her ear and looked around at her surroundings. It was December in America and somehow the crew managed to make a whole load of fake snow to fill a quarter of the set's floor. She kicked the snow that was beneath her feet and even though the air was warm and she was sweating in her four layers of coats, cardigans and jackets she still felt like it could actually snow any second. The real type. The type she loved to see whenever it fell over L.A and made the place seem like a magical winter wonderland even though it was very rare that the smallest snowflake could ever settle. She sighed noticing she was all alone except for Brian, who was directing the episode, to the left of her.

"I've got this cup of tea for you, Court." He said as she approached him. She shook her head not letting the feeling of heartbreak and dismal show.

"I'm alright thanks." She paused flicking through her script that she had held onto for the majority of the day. "Hey, do you know if Matthew has made an appearance yet?" She asked her eyes lighting up at the thought of seeing him again.

"No, sorry." Brain told her. Courteney's face fell and even though she knew that he wasn't late, and that if he had already arrived he would have to wait a full hour for his scene, she couldn't help but feel lonely and distraught as she walked away and sat down on one of the benches that was placed just where the snow seemed to fade out.

She sat reading through her lines and smiling every time Matthew's character's name, Sam, appeared and she imagined all the different ways he would say it. She would do this a lot when they were filming FRIENDS back in 1994. She loved shooting FRIENDS because of how close she was with everyone and how she saw them every single day of her life and never got bored with the exact same stories they told a million times over. Especially Matthew's as he said it with such humour and sarcasm that no matter how many times he told it you would always laugh 10 times more than when you heard the first time. There would be times when they all sat on the Central Perk set and she sat with her back up against a chair, and him next to her with his arm thrown over the back and his hand gently caressing her head. She liked the feel of his hands running through her thin black hair and it was simple moments like those that she knew she would miss for an eternity when the show would soon come to an end.

And she listened. She listened while he talked, and talked about his times before FRIENDS and she cared what he said, immensely for he was the one that she loved spending time with the most. And when she was curled up on the sofa, was his hands massaging her head, she looked at him while he talked and talked. Listening to every word he said. And while she was listening she would watch every bit of his face move with expressions. His smile that lit up the whole room (and she knew the entire cast would agree) and the crinkles by his eyes that she found adorably cute. She would stare into his big blue eyes that shone brighter than anything she had ever envisaged before and wondered what thoughts were dancing around in his mind as he spoke with such humour, sarcasm and thought.

"Courteney!" She heard a familiar voice call. She jolted her head to where the voice was coming from and saw _him_. Matthew Perry. She felt her mouth curl into a smile as she hastily jumped up and ran towards him throwing her script onto the bench before doing so.

"Oh my god, I've missed you so much." She said throwing her arms over his neck and holding him close. Matthew laughed at the surprised amount of affection she was giving him.

"Wow, I should keep away from you for longer." Matthew said as she nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck. Don't, she thought, I'd miss you too much.

"You're such a dork, Matthew." Courteney confessed pulling away and poking him in the chest.

"Okay, so I'm a dork and now I'm hurt." He admitted laughing at her. She just rolled her eyes and shook her head at him as she brought her hands up to his shoulders and smiled into his eyes. She missed their regular talks terribly. Of course she had his phone number, and of course they could easily talk on the phone or text each other for hours on end (which they had done in the past), but nothing could ever replace the feeling of talking face to face and that was something she missed once FRIENDS had finished.

"So what's with all the love, then?" He asked even though he knew that she was always this flirtatious around him and he was always the same.

"Because..." Courteney began as she slid her hands down his arms and onto his hands, playing with his fingers. "I haven't seen you since-" Courteney continued before Matthew cut her off.

"May." He gave her look as if to say 'you have told me this already', but still feeling the exact same way.

"This is a big deal, Matty." Courteney pointed out and Matthew smiled showing that he was being serious and was willing to listen to every word she had to say. "Ever since we worked together earlier in the year, I've realised how much fun it is and I just keep wanting to do it again. I missed our daily conversations at work and-" Courteney continued as she looked down at their hands that looked so perfectly fitted together.

"Well, why don't we make this a regular thing then?" Matthew announced which made Courteney look up and drop his hands at that sudden remark.

"What do you mean?" Courteney asked confused if he had meant it as a joke or not.

"You know, I could be a recurring character. Being your love interest, that you are secretly in love with, and constantly trying to get you to marry me... Again." Matthew explained as if he had just told her the best storyline ever to appear in Cougar Town.

"Why do we need to act out something that's already a reality?" Courteney smirked stroking his arm as Matthew's eyes lit up in sync with his warm smile.

They always had that type of relationship from the moment they met right the way through until they were almost distance from each other's lives however that never stopped them constantly trying to arrange meet ups and dinner dates. But when they were called every single day for endless auditions, movies, T.V shows, photo shoots which made their schedules packed full, they could never get time alone and have a moment to themselves which they could call 'theirs.'

"So why don't I show you around." Courteney said quickly adjusting to reality after herself and Matthew spent just over a minute staring at each other with no words to say, but "I've missed you." Matthew kicked the snow beneath his feet having a different idea of how they could spend their free hour before shooting the first scene.

"You do realise, it's not real snow." Courteney laughed reading his mind as if he had spoken his thoughts out loud.

"Yes, but it feels real... It looks real... And it'll be a lot if fun if I do this." He said scraping up some 'snow' from the ground, rolling it into a ball and hurling it at Courteney just in time for her to duck and it to hit a couple of meters behind her.

"Oh, so we're playing like this now, are we?" Courteney laughed bending down to do the exact same thing.

"You're grateful that I didn't mention the first thing that popped into my head first." Matthew told her.

"I bet that would've been way more fun."

"I don't think it would've been for the cast and crew, trying to search for us then eventually finding us in the dressing room-"

"Who said anything about a dressing room?" Courteney asked raising her eyebrows at him as to which Matthew did the same. And with that he darted and ran. He ran and even though there was nowhere to hide he ran until there was nowhere else to go, but to stop and go the other way.

However, by this time Courteney had already rolled her bit of snow into a ball and fired it straight at Matthew. Fortunately it hit him which made Courteney smile even though she knew he would try and get her back.

"Really? I purposely miss and you're turning this into a competition?" Matthew laughed turning back around to see Courteney with yet another snowball in her hand. He walked towards her which didn't take long as the set floor was a shorter distance than he thought.

"You didn't purposely miss. You missed because you suck at throwing." Courteney laughed as soon as Matthew was now only centimetres away from her. So close that she could feel his breath on her cold cheeks.

"I did miss." He told her in his soft voice that he always used which made Courteney go weak at the knees. He knew it did which was why whenever he used it she knew he was wanting something.

"Alright. I believe you." She lied smirking at him.

"So, now you can drop the snow?" He said gesturing to her clench fist to which she was trying to hide.

"It's not real snow." She protested trying to hide it even more.

"You'll drop the snow."

"You only want me to drop the snow so you can take your chance and prove you don't suck."

"I thought you said this wasn't real snow." Matthew laughed using her own words against her."You'll drop the snow."

"Make me." She said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. And with that he did. He grabbed her around the waist and she tried to struggle away.

"I'm ... not ... dropping it." She said through laughter.

"You will." He repeated holding her even tighter as he laughed in sync with her. Once she had gotten the strength the stop laughing she got the snowball and smashed into his face before wriggling free and watching him scrape the snow off his eyelids.

She smiled widely at him knowing that sooner or later he would do the exact same thing to her. After he had regained his sight he stared at her and they both burst into laughter and how stupid it must've looked.

"That was fun." He told her once he had stopped laughing.

"Who said we have to stop?" Courteney asked, making another snowball and throwing it at him, but Matthew had time to duck and gave her a smug look once he had straightened.

"You know, this will be incredibly boring if we continue to do that for the full hour." Courteney told him indicating what they had just done.

"Well, why don't we make it more interesting?" Matthew asked raising his eyebrows to which Courteney just giggled in return.

"You're a dork." She told him, folding her arms. Matthew laughed and walked closer to her cupping her face with his hands.

"Is my sweet Courteney cold?" Matthew asked staring into her shimmering blue eyes as he stroked her cold cheeks with with his thumbs.

"Yours?" Courteney laughed even though she loved the fact that he thought of her as his own. "I mean, maybe I am a little cold but-" She began before Matthew leant down and kissed her pink lips. And she couldn't help but unfold her arms and move them up and over his shoulders, running her fingers through his hair. Once they had parted she stared up at him in shock as her knees felt weak again and butterflies attacked her body.

"You know... I-I think my lips are still cold." She told him and he laughed and kissed her again. Longer this time and more passionate.

They parted a second time and it was the second time that Courteney felt that power take over her full body like she needed more than just a kiss. And more than just to be 'a friend.' Matthew slipped off his coat and wrapped it around her, despite the layers of jackets, cardigans and coats she already had on.

"I wanted to see how cute you looked in my coat. And I guess I was right. Very cute." He admitted touching her nose and giving it a small kiss. Courteney scrunched up her nose which made Matthew think of her even cuter and even more prettier than he had ever envisaged her to be.

"That doesn't change anything. I'm still going to kick your ass." Courteney told him, bending down and picking up some snow from the ground, and just before he could get away, she threw the snow at him and it hit him in the chest.

"You'll be very sorry." Matthew joked doing the exact same thing and Courteney forgot to duck and it hit her. Which she loved better to ducking as she could see his smile after he found out that he won and she got hit. Because, she thought, that his smile was powerful enough to melt the snow and she always felt like she had melted inside whenever he smiled at her.

And the snowball fight carried on for countless minutes and it was a constant cycle of them throwing snowballs at each other, ducking or not, hitting or missing and running around like complete lunatics as they laughed and enjoyed each other's company. To people watching they looked like a two idiots, but to them they felt like two idiots in love. Even though they never admitted it to one another at all.

Courteney picked up some snow from the ground and tried to search for Matthew who she knew wasn't very far. He wasn't behind their snowman they had dressed up in Matthews coat and one of Courteney's many layers. They called the snowman Chandler and decided to build another snowman named Monica, but they kept stealing snow from the pile they had created so they ended up restarting their snowball fight all over again.

"Matthew?" She shouted looking to her left and then to her right getting slightly worried as she didn't want to be out in the cold alone. Especially without Matthew.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed her by the waist which made her squeal and drop the snow. She turned around to see Matthew as he picked her up and twirled her around so she was looking down at his face that smiled even brighter which she never knew could be possible.

"You're such a dork." She told him the third time once he had put her down.

"True... But I'm your dork." He told her kissing her on the lips one more time.

Courteney heard two slight knocks on the door of her dressing room before the door opened slowly to reveal a very handsome Matthew Perry.

"I've got you a hot chocolate, I thought you might've wanted." He told her as he noticed she had her computer on and she was curled up on the sofa in his coat she had stole from their snowman.

"Thanks, babe." She smiled at him taking the cup from his hands and blowing on it to cool it down before taking a sip. She put it down next to her computer which was sitting on a desk, adjacent to the cream coloured sofa.

"What are you watching?" He asked sitting down next to her holding his cup in his hand.

"The scene we just did. You know, the car crash scene and our date." Courteney told him watching her computer screen.

_Are you out of your mind?! ... I'm sorry I didn't realise how attractive you are, would you mind if I said that without yelling?_

"I did pretty good." Matthew said putting his arm around her and massaging her head. She closed her eyes for a short amount of time at the sudden sense of comfortable and relaxing atmosphere.

"Mmm... I love when you do that..." Courteney murmured before snapping back into reality and moving onto the next scene.

"That's the second time we have had a date like that..." Matthew joked. Courteney just shook her head at him and rested her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her. She took this chance to take his hand in hers and play with his fingers.

"You've got a little something." Matthew said after a long silence of watching their scenes together. Courteney sat up and looked at him as he dabbed her nose with some whipped cream from his hot chocolate. Courteney giggled and did the same thing with him, purposely adding more. He put his mug down on the coffee table to the right of him before kissing Courteney's nose.

"Tastes nice." He told her and she just shook her head at him before doing the same to him.

"Does." She agreed. And with that they returned to their regular position. Her head on his shoulder, his arm thrown over the back of her and her hand playing with his fingers. It felt normal and right and as if they forever wondered why they hadn't been doing this forever. And soon they fell asleep. Very slowly then just all at once.

_He's such a dork_, Courteney thought to herself, _but he's my dork_.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N This is mainly just a filler chapter to get me to where I need to be in terms of where the story is going. I originally decided that this fanfic was going to be a oneshot, but I got really lovely reviews (thank you by the way) so I thought I'd carry this on for as long as I can before it starts getting boring. This is a really rubbish chapter so I will try to update chapter 3 as quickly as I can. _

**Chapter 2**

Courteney woke up with sudden shock as she had realised she fell asleep when she was supposed to be working and looking back over the scene that herself and Matthew had just finished. "Mom!" Courteney heard, her nine year old daughter, Coco call before she knocked on the door three times. Matthew was already awake and was looking through a newspaper on Courteney's desk. "Morning, sunshine." Matthew teased when noticing she had woken. Courteney shook her head before sitting up. "Have I been asleep for long?" She asked feeling like she had been asleep for atleast 2 hours. "Only half an hour." He told her going back to the sofa and sitting down next to her. "When I realised you feel asleep, I reached for that blanket and put it over you just incase you were going to be here all night." Matthew pointed to the blanket that was now on the floor along with Courteney's spilt glass of water, and even though the floor was cream carpet, she didn't have the energy to mind. She thanked Matthew by kissing him on the cheek before collecting the glass and blanket from the floor as Coco entered the room. "Mom, we need to go." Coco said before seeing Matthew and giving him a wave and a big smile. "Hey Coco." Matthew said smiling back at her. "Was the episode really that boring that you fell asleep?" Coco asked remembering what Matthew had told her once Courteney had fell asleep. "No. I was just tired." Courteney laughed placing the cup on the bench next to the computer and the blanket thrown over the couch. The blanket was identical to the one in FRIENDS which Jennifer decided to take home as a memory gift of her time on the show. This caught Matthew's eye. "Hey, didn't Jen take that?" He asked indicating the blanket. "Yes, but I saw an identical one in the shop just outside Warner Bro. Studios." Courteney told him as she went over to coco's bag hanging on the hook on the door. "So, did Matty fall asleep as well?" Coco asked once Courteney had handed Coco her bag and coat. "No." She laughed as Matthew began to stand up and take his coat off Courteney which she forgot she was still wearing. "Alright, okay." Coco said getting out a packet of sweets from her coat pocket. "Sorry, I didn't realise I was still wearing that." Courteney said realising she was still wearing the coat. She turned around and took it off and handed it to him, smiling up at him. He smiled back before bending down to kiss her. "Mom." Coco whined before Matthew could kiss Courteney. "Don't kiss Matthew so I can go home." "I wasn't going to kiss him." Courteney said before winking at Matthew. "We were just going to hug." And they did exactly that until Matthew sneaked a kiss on top of her head. "Alright, okay." Coco said nodding her head even though she knew Courteney was going to kiss him whether she stopped them or not.

Courteney waved Matthew goodbye as he climbed into his car and pulled on his seatbelt. "Same time tomorrow?" He asked, half shouting as he rolled down his window and stuck his head out. Courteney put up her thumb as if to say 'yes.' "And if the snow is still there..." Matthew teased winking at her. "Doubt it, but yes we can." Courteney laughed at him. Matthew smiled and rolled up his window before driving off down the rode. Courteney watched his car slowly become smaller and smaller until finally it disappeared in front of two other larger cars. "Mom." Coco whined impatiently tugging on her mother's arm. "Sorry." Courteney apologised snapping out of her daydream and turning her full attention to Coco. "So did you have fun with dad?" Courteney asked as Coco held onto her hand, skipping alongside her. "Yes." Coco replied nodding her head as Courteney opened the back car door to let Coco in. "Really? What did you do?" Courteney asked, pulling Coco's seatbelt over her shoulders and clipping it into the other side. "We played games." Coco said playing with the zipper on her coat. "Did you have fun with Matthew?" "Yes. A lot of fun. We did the first couple of minutes of the episode." Courteney told her daughter remembering how much fun it was to shoot FRIENDS with this much laughter and talking in-between takes. And how much Matthew made her laugh constantly every single second, of every single minute, of every single hour, of every single day while they were off set or on set. She knew she missed it and would do anything to work with his forever. "You love him." Coco said looking at Courteney. "Huh? What? Who?" Courteney asked even though she knew the name was Matthew even before she asked the question. "Matthew! It's blatantly obvious." Coco stated her face glowing, waiting for her mother to admit it. "I don't love Matthew." Courteney laughed shaking her head at her as she closed Coco's door and got into the drivers seat, pulling on her own seatbelt and putting the keys into the ignition. "Alright okay." Coco mumbled resuming to play with the zipper on her coat. "Why do you keep saying that?" Courteney asked throwing her hands onto the steering wheel and looking into the rearview mirror at Coco. "Because I know you're lying and I don't want to hurt your feelings." Coco admitted smiling to herself. "But I don't love Matthew!" Courteney protested stamping her feet like a child once she stopped at the red light. "You do. Everyone knows. You don't want to date him because you know it'll ruin your friendship." Coco explained and Courteney sat their astonished at what her daughter just said. "I'm nine, mom, not dumb." "It's much more complicated than that." Courteney said driving off once the traffic lights hit green. "How? If you love someone, surely you should take that chance right?" Coco asked wondering what possibly could stop someone from being with the person you love. She was only nine yet she knew a lot for a nine year old. And she was smart enough to know that her mother loved Matthew. However she didn't understand why her mother didn't want to date him, even though she loved him... A lot. "Yeah, but you watch friends right?" Courteney asked trying to keep her eye on the road as well as trying to talk to her daughter. Coco nodded which gave Courteney the signal to carry on. "Well, Phoebe and Joey. They were best friends, and they loved each other a lot, but they never dated because they were best friends and never wanted to ruin their friendship." Courteney explained wanting to change the subject as she suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable and she didn't know if it was because Coco was right or because she was so used to not speaking about her personal life that she forgot how to. "Monica and Chandler." Coco muttered, quiet enough so that she thought Courteney couldn't hear, but loud enough that Courteney did hear and quickly change the subject onto school. However when they spoke about school and what Coco was doing and the lessons she liked or disliked the most, the thought of what if creeped into her mind. What if she had actually took the chance and went on a date with Matthew? What if Matthew was thinking the exact same thing even though to her it seemed highly unlikely. And every time she spoke about school with Coco in the car, Coco tried to sneak in a question about Matthew, but Courteney only ever answered it very briefly as she didn't want any of her thoughts to escape her head just yet.

"I'm going to run the bath, you can watch T.V downstairs." Courteney told Coco once they had entered their home. Courteney ran upstairs to the bathroom and turned on the taps just before she felt her phone ring inside her pocket. She wanted to ignore it, but had a feeling it was going to be important so she squirted some soap into the bath and pulled out her phone from her pocket completely missing the caller ID. "Hello." Courteney said balancing the phone in between her ear and her shoulder as she tried to get out towels from the top cupboard. "Hi Court." She heard Matthew's voice on the end beaming. "Matthew!" Courteney gasped dropping the towels and letting some fall into the water and knock over empty shampoo bottles and soaps. "Hey, is everything okay?" Matthew asked concerned about what was happening on the other end. "Yes, yes. Everything's fine. I'm just filling a bath, that's all." Courteney reassured him fishing out the wet towels and put them on the radiator to dry. "Make sure you don't drop that phone in the bath, I've made that mistake too many times." Matthew said to which Courteney laughed and took the phone in her hand as she knew it wasn't safe on her shoulder. "What are you calling for then?" Courteney asked sitting down on the toilet seat, keeping a good eye on the bath. "Just wondering what scene I'm doing tomorrow." Matthew lied knowing exactly what they were doing tomorrow. The proposal. "No seriously, what are you calling for? I told you it was the proposal scene tomorrow about eighty thousand times." "Oh yeah, I just wanted to know if you wanted to get a cup of coffee after our day of shooting like we did today because I know that Coco's with her dad." Courteney's eyes widened at what Matthew just said. It was just a cup of coffee. A simple cup of coffee yet this is what Matthew asked back in 1995. But she turned him down. And then he asked again the day after that when he knew she wasn't busy, yet she turned him down once more trying to think of countless excuses. It was stupid that she did that because it wasn't that she didn't want to get a cup of coffee with Matthew 20 years in the past, it was just because she knew that one cup of coffee could lead to a million things. And it might not be the same now than it was back then, but she couldn't say no to a friendly cup of coffee. "Court..." She heard Matthew say suddenly realising she hadn't talked for over a minute. "Sorry! Yes. A cup of coffee would be great." Courteney responded turning off the bath taps and calling Coco upstairs. "Great. You know I thought I would be tired of coffee after 10 years of drinking it, but I guess not!" Matthew stated to which Courteney just laughed in response before saying good bye and hanging up the phone. "Who was that?" Coco asked going into the bathroom as Courteney stepped out. "No one. But you're with your dad tomorrow." Courteney said, smiling to herself as she made her way downstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N I want to thank you all again for reviewing because it's my very first fanfic so it means a lot that you do this. I don't have much to say about this chapter other than it has took my a long time of deleting sentences and rewriting things. So I hope you like it! If you don't then that's okay to. I will try and make chapter 4 better. _

**Chapter 3**

As Courteney walked onto the set of Cougar Town for the second time this week, she was now regretting accepting the date proposal Matthew offered her yesterday.

"Three proposals from me, you're very lucky aren't you?" Matthew laughed brushing past Courteney and giving her a teasing smile as he looked back. She looked back at him, melting at his warm smile. She would do anything to see that smile every single day of her life.

"Maybe one day we can make it four!" Matthew called back to which Courteney snapped out of her daydream and raised her eyebrows at his remark even though she secretly wished that someday there would be a day that that might come true. Matthew was also being deadly serious even though he hid it with his usual funny attitude that he knew she loved. He loved making her laugh and that was one of the many reasons he loved working with her so much.

"We're strangers, we're strangers, Jules and Sam don't know each other." Courteney repeatedly muttered to herself as she took her place to get ready to do the upcoming scene.

"What are you saying there, CC?" Matthew asked her to which Courteney looked up to see a very handsome Matthew Perry stand over her. She loved how tall he was so that she could snuggle into his arms and feel safe and secure even with heels on.

"Nothing." Courteney responded as someone came over and gave her a quick brush of foundation before running off. "Anyways, what are you doing here? You need to get ready for the next scene." Courteeny playfully pushed him away even though the producers and directors hadn't said anything yet and Josh wasn't here.

"I just need a quick kiss before I go." Matthew pleaded. Courteney let out a slight laugh and shook her head while smiling up at him. She soon gave in and reached up to give him a kiss on the lips with her arms wrapped around his neck.

"Courteney. Matthew. The next scene please." They heard a voice call from the side of them. They quickly parted to see a lot of fustrated cast and crew memembers clearly wanting to get on with the rest of the episode.

"Now they say something." Courteney laughed looking back up at Matthew. Matthew just rolled his eyes.

"Don't you just miss Monica and Chandler?" Matthew asked with a cheeky glint in his eyes.

"Always." Courteney said with the same sparkle in her matching blue eyes.

"There's no kiss in this episode is there?" Matthew frowned equally gutted as Courteney that they didn't write one in.

"You're such a dork." Courteney told him biting her lip at how equally cute he looked when he frowned as well as smiling. Matthew acted like he was slightly hurt by that comment.

"Now, where have i heard that before?"

"Matthew. Courteney. The next scene please." They both heard the exact same voice call, with an even more fustrated tone to his voice. Both Matthew and Courteney sighed and laughed to each other realising they had been standing there with everyone's eyes on them waiting for them to continue with the episode.

"I think they want us to shoot the next scene." Matthew whispered in Courteney's ear. Courteney laughed and nodded not wanting to break free from this moment with Matthew. Courteney quickly gave him one last kiss on the lips before he walked away to his spot with a smug look on his face.

"And cut!" Courteney turned to face Matthew once those words had been said, and traced her fingers along the gold strip of his red blazer. "You look very handsome in that costume." Courteney told him smiling up at him.

"You think?" He laughed and Courteney nodded pulling on the gold buttons.

"Well..." Matthew lifted off his hat and placed it onto Courteney's small head so that the hat almost covered her eyes. "And you look very cute." Matthew admitted as he pushed a strand of her black hair behind her ear. Courteney smiled up at him realising that the only reason she woke up smiling and stood all day smiling and not being able to stop was because she was with Matthew. And she realised that she was even happy when he wasn't even there yet her mind couldn't stop thinking about him. Whenever she thought about him, she missed him and whenever he was with her she smiled, laughed and could never stop. Matthew also realised that the only thing he missed about Monica and Chandler was seeing her everyday and making her laugh all day long. It was his favourite thing to do and hated to see her upset as her smile was the thing he enjoyed seeing the most. In his eyes, it was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

"Want to get that cup of coffee?" Courteney asked him reaching up and finishing off that kiss they had left so reluctantly because they had to finish off the scene.

"I can't say no to that." Matthew laughed as Courteney took the hat off her head. Matthew ran his hands through her hair, trying to fix it as he knew she loved it when he played with her hair. Courteney smiled again before indicating that they should go as they hadn't moved for about 10 minutes. Courteney re-fixed her hair and started walking to the coffee house with Matthew that was just down the road. She brushed her hand up against his and he took it. It was crazy, because here they were walking towards a coffee date, hand in hand yet they still told everyone (and even each other) that they didnt have feelings for one another even though they did. And when they walked they stayed incredibly close, just like they did whenever they weren't walking, and felt the silence somewhat comforting like it was just as good as talking forever to each other.

"I was thinking..." Matthew said putting down his cup of coffee next to Courteney's as she looked up, her blue eyes shining. "What about if we don't do a FRIENDS reunion, but an interview?"

"Has the cup of coffee got you missing that show?" Courteney asked as she stroked the side of his face. Matthew laughed and shook his head.

"No, I'm being serious. It's been nearly 20 years since it's started. I think it should happen." Matthew admitted taking a sip from his cup of coffee and watching Courteney pull a face as if she didn't think it was a good idea at all. "And this is a bad idea because...?" Matthew asked, realising her expression.

"It's not a bad idea. It's just... We all haven't been in the same room together for 10 years and that's a really long time! I..." Courteney trailed off to which Matthew jumped to the chance to speak.

"And that is the perfect reason as to why we should do one. Don't you think?" Matthew's voice softened at that end as he reached over and grabbed Courteney's hand in his. Courteney just shrugged her shoulders. She really wanted to see everyone again, but a couple of things were holding her back from reuniting with all her old friends.

"I mean, once we do one reunion people will expect another, and another, and another." Courteney stated to which Matthew couldn't help, but agree. He loved the idea of getting to see everyone again and to especially spend more time with Courteney as he didn't want to convince himself that this was probably going to be the last time he will get to work with her, even though he knew it might be true. Courteney quickly changed the subject and went onto more things like her daughter Coco and how much Coco loves him. And when Courteney talked Matthew watched her. He watched her eyes light up and her nose scrunch up in the cute way it always does. He watched her smile widen and whenever she laughed his heart melted because he loved her laugh and that was one of the many reasons he always tried to make her laugh no matter where they were whether it was on set or out on a coffee date. And he knew it was just a friendly coffee date, but he wanted it to be more than that. He didn't know that Courteney felt the exact same way so he kept trying to tell himself that she didn't and it would be stupid to suddenly ask her to become more than friends after their 20 years of knowing each other. He stared at her and he listened and he couldn't help it because she was just so beautiful.

Courteney on the other hand loved how he listened and loved how he made slight jokes every now and then, because he wasn't ever not funny. He was always just consistently funny. She loved her hand in his and it felt so comfortable as if they were meant to be fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle.

"You are so beautiful, did you know that?" Matthew blurted out to which made Courteney stop from what she was about to say.

"Thank you." Courteney said smiling at him even though she could never believe it herself no matter how many times he had told her in the past.

"No, I mean it. I know I've said it a lot, but you are. One of the reasons I like to make you laugh all day long is because I love your smile, and your laugh. It's adorable and the way your eyes sparkle when you talk about your daughter, or your show, it's just mesmerising. And whenever you scrunch up your nose about the slightest things, it's cute. And your hair and how it's soft and that is one of the many reasons I love to run my hands through it so much because I know it makes you happy and I want you to be happy. You're the most beautiful when you're happy." Matthew said and Courteney leaned over and kissed him. Just like that. Because what he just said made her so happy. No one had ever told her that before and it meant a lot to her. Much more than anyone would ever understand. They weren't in a massively public place where a ton of people could see them and make judgements. So she wasn't scared to kiss him. She was never scared to because it felt right.

"Matthew, can I... Can I ask you a question?" Courteney asked him, parting from their kiss playing with her takeaway coffee cup in her hands.

"Of course." Matthew said, taking his hand away from her's.

"Would you maybe like to come back to mine?" She asked in a soft voice close to sort of a whisper as their heads were still very close. "I mean, Coco will be there..."

Matthew kissed her back wanting to feel her lips one more time before it could turn into anything way beyond that Courteney had in mind. However, what he didn't know was that she didn't want there to just be one kiss and that was it. All joking around from today meant a lot to her because she was spending time with him and half of those jokes she said she was being serious about.

"Yes." Matthew responded and Courteney smiled because he always made her smile. And she always made him smile. They made each other happy and that was all that mattered to them.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N sorry i haven't updated this in a while. Everything has been a bit hectic but i hope you like this chapter. I don't really have much to say about it other than it has a flashback in it. Enoy!**_

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**Chapter 4**

Courteney put out two coasters on the table in the living room and two small bowls, as well as a candle in between. Coco stood in the doorway hanging onto her little pink handbag, Courteney got her last Christmas.  
"Shit." Courteney cursed as her sleeve slightly caught fire as she was lighting the candle with a match. She ran into the kitchen to run some hot water over it, hoping that it wasn't visible on her cream cardigan even though she knew it would be. As Courteney came back into the room she saw Coco slightly laughing to herself.  
"When's your dad going to be here? I've got... company coming round in 5 minutes." Courteney muttered to herself as she examined her burnt sleeve. She sighed when she saw a circular burnt mark lying by the cuff of the sleeve.  
"Who's 'company'?" Coco asked twirling her bag around in boredom.  
"No one. Just myself." Courteney said, slipping off her cardigan and throwing it to the side.  
"Really? Because I see two bowls." Coco pointed out sitting down on the sofa and mimicking eating out of it.  
Courteney paused wondering if she should tell her daughter or leave it until she found out by herself.  
"Well... It's... Someone... And that is all." She told her settling on the choice of "don't tell her yet." Courteney brushed past her and ran up the stairs to get herself a new cardigan because she couldn't go without one as she hated her arms being so bare even if it was just a thrown over scarf. Coco curiously followed wondering why her mother was so hectic to everything being perfect even if it was just for someone.  
Courteney stared at herself in the mirror that was on-top of the stairs.  
"I don't get it," She thought pulling her hair in front of her shoulders then pushing it back. She remembered those words Matthew had told her just over an hour ago before they had kissed and wondered how he could ever find her cute, beautiful or mesmerising. Because to her she was just normal. Nothing special, and certainly not mesmerising. However to Matthew she was everything he had ever wanted and only found the courage now to tell her everything he had been thinking about over the past 20 years when he first laid eyes on her. And this played on Courteney's mind as she searched in all her drawers for a cardigan that was just right.

"So who is coming over?" Coco asked as she watched Courteney pull on a black cardigan, then pull it off and throw it to the side. She then picked up a red one, looked herself in the mirror for a while as she pulled at the item of clothing and played with her hair. She then took it off and threw it back onto the bed before diving to find one that would be perfect. Not okay. Perfect.  
"Someone." Courteney muttered as she finally found the right cardigan and made a 'ah ha' noise to congratulate herself.  
"Is this guy Matthew?" Coco asked to which Courteney looked up and hesitated before shaking her head awkwardly.  
Coco raised her eyebrows and placed her hands on her hips.  
"Mom." She said as she knew it was true.  
"Coco." Courteney said in the same tone.

Coco rolled her eyes before starting to imitate her mother.  
"I love Matthew, but we're just friends. Even though we are secretly married and kiss all the time, we're just friends. I love to talk about him all the time, but that doesn't mean anything because we're just friends."  
"Oh my god, I do not sound like that." Courteney laughed walking past her and travelling downstairs to check on the dinner that she was cooking. She was going to go for a regular takeaway, but thought that it was too simple and decided to cook a full romantic dinner even though she still didn't know if he loved her more than a friend. Yeah, they had that date. And of course he told her how beautiful she looked to him. To Coco it was pretty obvious.

"You know what I've just realised." Coco said skipping downstairs with her book she wanted to take her dad's that evening.  
"Yes?" Courteney asked even though she wasn't really listening because she was busy cooking her's and Matthew's meal.  
"You didn't deny any of that what I said so you are actually married!" Coco said sitting down onto one of the bar stools that was placed around the kitchen island.  
"So tell me, Court, was it magical?" She asked placing her head in her hands, looking sarcastically intrigued.  
Courteney looked up with a shocked expression her face.  
"First of all, don't call me 'Court' because-" Courteney began before Coco interrupted her.  
"Because Matthew only calls you that, got it." Courteney just let that one go as she knew her daughter was having fun.  
"Second, we're just friends. Nothing is going to come out of this." Even though Courteney said this she wanted something to come out of it, but she hated the fact that her daughter was right.  
"'Friends.' Alright, okay." Coco said using air quotations on the word 'friends' before running off to the living room to watch T.V before her dad came. She stayed clear of the candles and sat on the white arm chair closest to the T.V.  
"Coco, I'm telling you, we are just friends." Courteney said coming into the room, not wanting her daughter to win this 'argument.'  
"So, what happened at the coffee date?" Coco asked emphasising on the word 'date.'  
"We talked about friends.." Courteney began, as she sat down on the arm chair opposite to Coco's.  
"And..." Coco said knowing there was more to this story.  
"And he told me I was beautiful and we kissed, but-" Courteney said to which Coco laughed.  
"Oh my god, he's as bad as you!" She exclaimed.  
"Yes, but..." Courteney said.  
"We're just friends." Herself and Coco said in sync. Courteney just lightly shook her head at how much her daughter 'thought' she knew about her. Then she saw a car pull up outside and jump to her feet.  
"Thank god, your dad is here!" She said rushing around to pick up Coco's bag. Coco gave Courteney a look as if to say "I know I'm right."

Courteney knew that if Matthew arrived now, he would be early. And if he arrived 10 minutes from now, he'd still be early. But she couldn't help, but miss him terribly. She knew they had spent a day together working on Cougar Town, and that she would have to go back next week to finish off the last of the season. She also knew that Matthew wouldn't be on those episodes, neither working on set. When she was working on Cougar Town today, she felt a sense of nostalgia like she was back working on FRIENDS without the other four. Even though it ran on for 10 seasons and over 200 episodes, she wanted it to run on for longer so she didn't have to spend a day without speaking face to face with some of her closest friends in the world. Especially Matthew.

_Flashback January 2004_

This was it. The day they had all been dreading. It was finally here. From weeks of preparation and countless run throughs and rehearsals and the plenty tears shed, this day had finally come. The end of friends. The episode wasn't going to show until May, yet the actors were saying their final goodbyes in January.  
"I don't want to do this." Courteney said slowly pacing the side of the stage where they would all run out (or for Courteney, walk) at the call of their names.  
"You'll be fine." Jennifer said rubbing her arm before giving her a hug. Courteney shook her head. Yeah, she had gotten nerves before a taping before. This was different. And it wasn't because she was pregnant with Coco and that was the reason she was feeling ill in the stomach. It was because it was the last ever time she would walk out onto that stage and be Monica. Unless they do a reunion of course, but she knew that was never going to happen.  
"Hey, Court." She turned around and saw Matthew do a little jog up to her with a smile on his face, yet she could tell by his eyes that he also didn't like the feeling of being Chandler for the last time either.  
"Matthew!" She said wrapping her arms around him, and hugging him tightly.  
"Are you okay?" He asked before kissing the top of her head lightly. Courteney shook her head in the crook of his neck so her black hair brushed against his chin.  
"No... Neither am I." Matthew admitted before she unwrapped her arms and stared up at him.  
"We're still going to be friends right? I mean, I know that sounds cheesy and you've heard it in every movie. But in the movie, the characters say yes and then they end up breaking that promise-" Courteney said as Matthew let out a slight chuckle. "This isn't funny." She said slapping him across the chest with the back of her hand.  
"Hey hey hey. We will stay friends, okay?" Matthew said. "I won't let us fall out."  
"Don't say that..." Courteney trailed off as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.  
"Well what do you want me to say?"  
"I don't know..." Courteney said. She wanted to stay friends with all of them, yet she had a feeling that as soon as the show finished, they would all scatter and start bonding with other people and never see each other again. I mean that's what happened with most tv shows these days.  
"Courteney Cox Arquette." She heard her name being called and she leaned up and gave Matthew a quick kiss in the cheek before walking out onto the stage and giving everyone a wave. Matthew watched her take her place beside Jennifer and give her a hug. He also saw that they both started to get tears in their eyes as the crowd started to scream and cheer. They didn't know what was going to happen in the episode, but the actors did. And even though they had rehearsed it so many times, they couldn't help the tears from falling when the director yelled cut on the last scene.  
Matthew smiled over at Courteney who was now joined by Lisa and eventually David. Courteney leaned forward and gave Matthew a smile and a slight wave. Matthew smiled and waved back, clapping along with the audience. "God, she is beautiful," He thought.  
"Matthew Perry." Matthew heard his name being called and ran out onto the stage giving everyone a wave and soon after he was joined by Matt.

Once everyone took their seats and the actors took their places, Matthew kept looking over at Courteney making sure she was alright. Even though he was younger than her, he always felt more protective over her. He loved the other 2 girls a lot, but there was a different bond with Courteney that made their relationship a bit more special. And he had to owe it all to Monica and Chandler, one of TVs best loved couples.  
"You did well." Matthew said once the director yelled cut and they were moving onto the next scene. Courteney laughed.  
"If I don't get to say this after the show's ended, then I want to say it now. So thank you." She said to him as he wrapped his arm around her waist and they both walked to the next setting.  
"What for?" He asked, stopping once they had arrived in the next location.  
"Well, you know... For everything. For supporting me when I couldn't say a certain line in the script, or for when I got a part in a movie I really wanted, or when I got married..." Courteney trailed off. "I'm just happy you were the one that played my Chandler." She smiled up at him and he smiled back.  
"Well, I'm happy you played Monica." Matthew said and Courteney laughed as he leant down again and kissed her head. Then Courteney had to go off and do a scene of hers without Matthew so that gave Matthew the time to watch her say some of her very last lines she would ever say on the show. Of course they had a full hour to get through yet, but it felt like to him that this full episode was going by way too quickly. As he stood watching her say her lines, mess up, curse to herself because she messed up and the re-start, he thought. He thought about what would've happened if things were different. He made it quite clear that he had feelings for Courteney from the beginning. As soon as she walked into the room, he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the room. He thought about what would've happened if he hadn't been so scared at actually asking Courteney on a date. He had joked about it in the past, but she didn't know he was being serious. He thought about how her life would've been different. Would have he made a good boyfriend? A good husband? A good father? Better than David? Probably not. He saw how happy David made her. And he was happy, even though there was that pain inside of him that made him wish things were different.  
"Matthew!" He heard Matt LeBlanc call from the stage. Matthew snapped out of his thoughts and suddenly remembered that he missed his que line.  
"Too busy drooling over Court?" David Schwimmer asked and Courteney let out a small laugh.  
"She's very beautiful, I can't help myself." Matthew joked joining them on stage to continue the scene. Courteney always loved when she was Matthew because he always made her feel better about herself even when she was having one of her worst days. Like his character, he would joke around and then start to be serious and actually help her. She always had a soft spot for Matthew and out of the guys, she was the closest with him. She wondered how things would've been different like Matthew had just been doing. She knew he had feelings for her, but didn't really think much of them as he had never really fully admitted them. She hated him for that as she knew he would make an amazing boyfriend to someone and someday a husband. She hated that he never told her about his feelings. But things like that shouldn't bother her now because she was happy now. She loved Matthew. It was true. She couldn't think of anyone better to be her Chandler.  
"Next scene." The director yelled. "Courteney and Matthew."  
"I love you Court." Matthew said walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.  
"I love you too, Matty." Courteney laughed as she hugged him back.

_Present Day_

Courteney saw a car pull up outside her house and a bright smile stretched across her face. It had only been 10 minutes. He was early. But she didn't care. She was happy.  
"Hi." She said once she had opened the door and saw his cute face looking back at her.  
"Hi, Court." He responded, kissing her on the cheek. Courteney smiled and closed the door behind him as her phone buzzed inside her pocket. She pulled it out and saw she had a text from Coco.

Coco: Matthew Perry

Courteney: Yes?

Coco: You're on a date.

Courteney: What?

Coco: You are. Tell me what happens.

Courteney: Okay.

_At least she had upped her texting gam_e, Courteney thought as she joined Matthew.


End file.
